A Month of Beautiful Stones

Twilight
The kitchen huddles around candlelight.
The garden retreats
- Julie Singleton @ Small Stones from Sussex

East Clock
every morning
on foot
i descend into town

the church tower welcomes me with the correct time
Kuvalaya @ Petals on the Wind

warm soapy suds wash away syrupy remnants from breakfast plates
- Kiwibok @ Soul Sisters

a year of small stones - 001
branches sharp like knives
in the brilliant air.
- Sunflower Roots

Bereft - Small Stone #2
Last year’s garbage
Christmas trees along the road
bereft of glittering lights.
- Laura Lawless @ A Dreamer's Notebook

a year of small stones - 002
gnarled white fingers
two sycamores reach for
each other.
- Sunflower Roots

Silver Spoon for A River of Stones
Silver spoon ~ tiny mirror ~ little pool ~ memory keeper.
- Off the Page Poetry

Walking to the shop for a newspaper
caught in summer's sudden shower
the water-web wrapping me
in happy paralysis
- Jennie Fraine @ Jaywig's Jotter

A RIVER of STONES #1
It's funny, you know, how you can sit around thinking about what you wish to
be, and then, in one simple, unobtrusive moment the Universe, because you have put forth just a small effort, rewards you by taking you exactly where you need to go.
- Mimi Foxmorton @ Collage Pirate
(My Comment: I often find by projecting my dreams, reality finds me in most unexpected ways!)

Morning Commute - Small Stone #3
Frozen pink sky
Naked trees shiver
along the roadside
- Laura Lawless @ A Dreamer's Notebook

the ancients
called it pneuma
breath or soul
all short poems
sigh this spirit
(pub. in Handful of Stones 01/02/2011)
- T. D. Ingram @ Signs of Life

Need
They bought her a puppy
when what she needed
was her mum and a ride
across the far side
of the moon.
- Rose Mary Boehm @ A Handful of Stones

A River of Stones #2
There is a distinct lack of light now that the snow has melted in a rare December thaw. The dog, who insists on a fresh patch of snow for each pee, amuses me with a doggie ballet as he performs his dance on the last, small mound. It's good to start the day laughing in the dark.
- Mimi Foxmorton @ Collage Pirate

morning paper
Laying silent on the driveway
So many words
Wait
To be unwrapped
- Kylie in Adelaide @ Pausing to pick up small stones

Small Stone 2nd January 2011
I'm back in my garish teenage bedroom.
Things are exactly as I remember them.
Is it the dust or the memories bringing tears to my eyes?
- Jen Smith @ Wide Open Eyes

NaSmaStoMo #3
My childhood
was carefully
bordered in
yellow angles
with a
high gloss
shine.
- Blue Blithers

A Small Stone NUMBER 4
This morning the radio said the partial eclipse was a smiley face on the horizon. The clouds didn't co-operate. It’s another four years before the next one I won’t see.
- Connecting

'Takeaway'
The pneumatic whirl and clang of a dust cart
Taking away what's left of last year
- Hussam

A river of stones. January 3
The cat curled up on the sofa. A black question mark against the cushions.
- Morning AJ

Sunday Morning
Sunday morning
The day stretches out before us
What to do?
Two small children dance at the foot of the bed
Calling out for activity
I sink into the warm bed's embrace
and choose not to choose
for the moment
- Existential Moments

AROS Stone three
It is the first turning which decides the direction of a journey.
- Cat Down Under

Chaos
Gridlock. Jousting for position.
Urban arteries pulse.
Disconnect
- Wind Dancer @ Mists of Morning
(My Comment: Neat! And a beautiful presentation of an urban headache!)

I Can Still Feel It
My Toe!
My right big toe was
stepped on
hard
by a horse
“Danzarina”
Who I loved
more than 20 years ago.

I still feel it.
- Off the Page Poetry

small stone: January 4
The spot where I trod my name out in snow
froze over again:
now I’ve become an unyielding glyph
of ice.
- Joseph Harker @ Naming Constellations

Revolution
We spin at
over 1,000
miles per
hour.
Sliding the
sunset
away
- Practice Makes Perfect
(My Comment: Great spin on an old routine!)

birds, stone 5
a long black telephone wire
dangling from pole to pole.
they don't make them above ground these days
sixty black birds weigh the wire down
chirp chirp chirp
enjoying the rare iowa winter sun.
yet in the middle sits one white
larger then the others,
brighter, purer, wholesome
is he feeling inferior, judged
or almost like a god?
- Sleeping With Bicycles and Glowing Monsters

a river of stone - Jan 4
driving to work
on my first day back,

in the morning mist –
traffic lights turn red.
- Talking to the Moon

small stone #5
shopping mall
a wide open space
where Santa used to be
- Kirsten Cliff's Swimming in Lines of Haiku

bath
longing for eucalyptus in a room steam-full of pumpkin spice.
- sami, curiously

Light
Fingerprints on the window; a miniature crime scene.
- Small Stones from Sussex

River of Stones - Jan 5th
As I wait for the tea water to boil
the silence fills with the tick of the clock and the bumpy hum of the refrigerator -
my domestic symphony.
- First Line

Rain like scree
6.
the darkest day
rain like scree

the promise of Summer
in ice cream colours
on beach hut doors
- Annie Kerr @ Inkhaven

a river of stones-Jan 4
saving the parking space
between snow banks--
the lawn chair
- Cracked Sugar Bowl

a river of stones-Jan 5
the freeze-dried rose bud --
unaware that Indian summer
was only temporary
- Cracked Sugar Bowl

A bird song
Brilliant orange ball of fire!
We fly towards you,
In formation.
One leads, two follow,
The rest of us behind.
We're coming home
- Of Heaven and the Spirit

Night
Christmas stars
throw a merry light
on
fallen frangipani
- Verse days of my life

stone #5
walking past the coffee shop
where my friends used to work

the coffee may still be brewing
but the warmth is gone
- jasoncrane.org

stone #6
today my brain is more spoon than blade
rounded and dull in my unslept head
still, I’ll grind it against the whetstone
sharpen my wits for what’s ahead
- jasoncrane.org

Old News
I told him of our changes, but he’d already read about it on Facebook. – B (guest stoner)
- Stars and Willows

small stone - Jan 7
the sound of happy
drifts out
from under my daughter's door
- Pausing to pick up small stones

Two Stones (playing catch up)
Ten days after Christmas
a lamp post still wrapped in green and red foil;
I want to cover it with my jacket
and take it home.
~
The sound of a match striking:
a crackle gives way to a soft roar
full of fury, full of warning.
- Stars and Willows

Small Stone - Day 6
Black cat carries night
into pale morning.
- Stars and Willows

River of Stones - Day 8
In the garden
melting snow resembles
a mass of white continents
floating in an ocean of green.
- The Gathering of Stones

River of Stones - Day 9
From
this perspective
the tree branches
reach down,
gnarly wood lightning
hitting the town.
- The Gathering of Stones

Yellow
A daffodil-yellow balloon
drenched in sunshine
the colour of my baby’s happiness.
- Verse days of my life

576
oranges dropped in parking lot snow
an old man picks them up with gloveless hands
- feathers
(My Comment: A drop of sad magic here! For some strange reason I thought of Hans Christian Anderson’s story of “The Little Match Girl”!)

haiku
morning twilight
the shape of things
falling into place
- January Stones

a river of stones 14
new year resolution...
the handbrake on the car
continues to stick
- Lynne Rees @ an open field

a river of stones-Jan 11
With the email
about his passing,
I think about my own social footprint
that would be silenced.
- Cracked Sugar Bowl

a river of stones-Jan 14
the red cherry
at the bottom of the glass
bounces
to the beat
from the dance floor
- Cracked Sugar Bowl

a river of stones-Jan 17
how often we take for granted
how well we feel...
until we don't
- Cracked Sugar Bowl


silver moon disc
gilds the dark desert
keeping coyote conversation
and restless dreams
company
- Desert Stones

a river of stones - Jan 30
after cleaning house,
I look up at the corner
of my room – and there
a spider
cleaning house
- Lonnard @ Talking to the Moon

Twitter CyberBonn: - The confectioner / dripping designer chocolate freckles / on your cheek
(My Comment: A great sense of playful mischief in this one.)
Twitter CyberBonn: Your funny scowl / turns two eyebrows / into one
(My Comment: A great, light-hearted observation, turning grim into grin.)
Twitter CyberBonn: - The wind / hissing / through / cat o nine tail / stalks
(My Comment: Beautiful, snake-like image and the word "stalks" creates a surreal nightmare halt to the scenario! Dynamic, animated still life!)

Twitter MarthaWriting: I throw fruit instead of passing it nicely because I like the clappy-slappy noise when you catch it
(My Comment: A real "kiddywinks" reaction! We sophisticated adults should bend a little and enjoy more of these moments! Love it!)
Twitter MarthaWriting: Bang! Bang! Hammers and dust clouds fly. I think, ‘It’ll be nice when it’s done’, then hate my imagination for throwing my week away.
(My Comment: Renovating? Routine "must do's" have no grace + don't fix themselves! They wait with evil grins for us to face them again!)
Twitter forgottenworks too old for lullabies / i open the small window / and let the rainsound in
(My Comment: Magical reality suggesting that the charm of childhood may only be a window away!)
Twitter gennepher the road/ just/ sat there/ it didn't take her anywhere/ she had to do the walking
Twitter gennepher: the child / picked / dandelions / from the top / of the abandoned air raid shelter
Twitter MarthaWriting: Two feet, one cream and one pink. The pink one is going to tingle like hell in a minute.
Twitter forgottenworks grey heron / a still life / among the rushes
(My Comment: Great play on still life and living energy! "Rushes" is loaded!

Twitter expatinCAT
Frost sparkles / in a winter sun.. / white wine.
On a park bench / a pristine copy / of Proust's 'Remembrance Of Things Past' / open / at page 16.
She is my favourite pizza topping
'Relief' and 'release' / can sometimes spell / 'happiness'
The cage door / swings open / I reach inside / and gently gather up / my future dream
Jet chases a flock / of seagulls.. / perspective